Those Who Make

Those Who Make : For all the makers out there or anyone who appreciates anything that is M A D E , check out this website.  

As of Late

"Every Videogame From the Simpsons" ... Check out this beautiful collection of clips here.

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On another note, here I am with the most wonderfully delicious Easter surprise that my mom gave me. It's the size of a large computer mouse, and I've been gnawing on it every night before bedtime (doctor recommended).

Mix and Roll

Damn, it felt good yesterday for the warmth to spread over the land, for the sun to shine bright, and for my legs to carry me around town! It is one of my favorite things ever- springtime jogging. The sidewalk puddles, freshness of air, increase of people out n aboot, music blaring through open windows... it is aaall. so. good.

So in connection with Spring awakening and good energy, I share a simple and healthy snack/dessert recipe to have on hand:

No Bake Energy Bites

1/2 C. peanut butter (creamy or chunky, you can have whatever you like)
1/3 C. honey
1 C. dry oatmeal
1/4 C. ground flax seed
1/4 C. sunflower seeds
1/4 C. dark chocolate chips or morsels 
1/4 C. dried cranberries
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1.) Using a medium sized bowl, mix peanut butter and honey.
2.) Add oatmeal, flax seed, and sunflower seeds. Keep mixing-
3.) I prefer breaking down the chocolate and cranberries a bit before adding them to the mix. To do so, throw both in a food processor with a bit of olive oil for 10 seconds and that'll do. 
4.) Lastly, add the vanilla extract and then chill the mix in the refrigerator for a 1/2 hour. Once chilled, shape them however you want and that's that! Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and they'll last for up to 2 weeks. 

Voilà!

Sunday Morning

I was given the suggestion to exchange vodka for akvavit (potato schnapps) in a Bloody Mary, and I've done just that this morning. "Tastes like a reuben in liquid form," they said. Tastes like that indeed. Add that celery, celery salt, and speared pickle or olive, and let your head be soothed. FIVE STARS!

Today

Today: Spun these two new additions of my record collection, courtesy of a little birdie over at Numero Group, Chicago. Top two photos, Antena's Camino Del Sol. The third photo, Orquestra La Justicia's Salsa Con Nostalgia. 

Later, my girl, Erica, came over (visiting home from Kansas City), and we made carrot/tahini/chickpea soup and garlic bread for our lunch. VERY GOOD and very simple. Check the recipe from Smitten Kitchen here. 

Today

 

 

Above: 2nd graders' work from today's open studio. They amaze me and warm my heart every day.

 

 

Above: the 1st graders' turkeys are finished! They've been taken home, accompanied with proud smiles and love for their work. "Happy Thanksgiving, Tom the Turkey!" 

 

 Above: 8th graders' still lifes. One more day for them to work, one day for critique, and then I am finished with this group. I'm sad for this as I've grown close to them, but as they say, "It's a part of being a teacher". 

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This is my own still life for tonight. Back at home to drink beer, eat these chips (very sweet), watch the coverage of the raids in Gaza, and talk with my parents. They're sleeping now, but the fire's still going. So here I sit, warming my back, ready for another brew, and then up to my room to listen to this Big Box record, "Die Now". One last thing: a herd of gobbling turkeys charged me after school this afternoon! It was intense and exhilarating! 

Ok, godnat, goodnight, sove godt 

Pretty Lights - Finally Moving

• A song for a mellooow Friday late-afternoon. Give me my big hooded IOWA sweatshirt, I want my big hooded IOWA sweatshirt. 

• My sister, Katrina, wanted the ingredients for the green smoothie drink I tried about a month ago. My favorite thing about it... the teamwork of cucumber and pear: 

The Green Goddess:
- 1.5 cups coconut water
- 1 chopped cucumber
- 1 chopped pear
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 handful spinach
- 2 sprinkles cinnamon
- optional: 1 serving stevia

Dirty Projectors- I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine

Dirty Projectors covering a Bob Dylan song. NICE. Hyped on a few cups of coffee later than I like to be drinking the stuff, but my godfather made a large pot and it's a cool evening so what the heck. I was just watching the CMAs for a little while when I realized I'd rather listen to the Dirty Projectors and stare at photos of my cat, Issy.

Tonight I talked to my sister about making choices. Who knows what newness may come around, you see. Then I read about a "Green Goddess" smoothie and may take a quick run to the grocery store after school tomorrow so I can blend one up. As weirdo as it may look, I'm curious! My girl Elise drinks such drinks quite often and has always recommended it to me. I'm not hoping for a smoothie to change my being; I just consider that giving something new a shot everyday is very healthy. Gr33n Goddess me! 

Our brains, always swirling with ideas and what ifs. We may not always be thorough or worthy, yet we're not always careless or worthless. So what. 

Did I mention I had a lot of coffee?

Marty Robbins- Big Iron

Classic. My dad just picked up this Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs record, and I've taken it upon myself to sneak it up to my room for listening. Along with listening to that, I am drinking my new favorite beer, Two Brothers Outlaw IPA (RECOMMENDED!), and dodging a cat's playful bites at my ankle. Cheers!

The Edible Schoolyard

Today

Happy International Women's Day, everybody! Above are photos from an annual International Women's Day party I've worked at now for three years. Each year for this, a different country is chosen and a ton of traditional food from that country is made. My favorite... the big bowl of cilantro rice, starfruit, and the coconut tres leches cake. 

Who's going out tonight? Or just staying in their bedroom? Whatevs, R0CKTH3LIP$... http://rockthelips.tumblr.com/


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For day three of workshop today, the students made backdrops, wrote scripts, and chose music for their short video performances they'll be doing with their puppets. One puppet's t-shirt reads "FCC TAKE A HIKE" and the performance is entitled "What Do You Want?". The other performance is entitled "Never Betray Lent" and is about a puppet named Joey who drinks too much pop in his bedroom. Fantashtishk!



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Last but not least, it is officially my Spring Break so I'm enjoying the last bottle of Vieille Provision Saison Dupont, a Belgian Farmhouse Ale that my roommate's boyfriend kindly introduced my other roommate and me to. Highly recommended! The back of it reads:

"Brewed at one of Europe's last farmhouse breweries, in Hainaut province... This increasingly rare specialty originated before the age of refrigeration as a beer to be brewed in winter for summer drinking. The style required a beer sturdy enough to age in the bottle but refreshing enough to be enjoyed in warm weather. Saison Dupont fits this description perfectly, it has a big fruity bouquet, and dense head. The taste starts fruity but ends dry and very clean with a light, refreshing body." 

So with an open night ahead of me, will I fall asleep watching the first season of the Simpsons? Will I go soul dancing at dance party? Will I just sit on my floor in the silence of Spring Break? WHO KNOWS... 


CHEERS!!!